Landlords belong to us now

“Desperate Dubai Landlords try to lure tenants” was the headline that brought an evil grin to Kipp’s face this morning. No, not because we are generally sadistic (well OK maybe we are a bit), but this time around we feel completely justified in our vicious glee. The reason is a particularly difficult 15-year-long relationship with an particularly awful landlady.

Nicknamed Hitler (a name she unfortunately came to know of during a fit of rage), this particular land lady possesses the traits of the worst of authoritarian dictators. Unsympathetic to the pleas of her long-time tenants, during the property boom she increased rents to exorbitantly high rates and demanded the entire sum be paid up front. When Kipp asked to her to reconsider our case, given our long stint at the apartment, we got “Move, I care a damn” thrown in our faces.

And then came 2008, after which nothing would be the same. Quite possibly the only silver lining of the gigantic thunder cloud that is the recession turned out to be the many flats that were vacated and the deposing of Hitler that would soon follow.

So because Dubai residents have been at the mercy of some of the worst landlords and excruciatingly exorbitant rents for more than a decade, the turn of the tide suits Kipp very well indeed.

Desperate Landlords (sounds fit for a locally produced TV drama), as Gulf News tells us, are pulling out all the stops to lure potential tenants. While many are slashing their rents to embarrassingly low rates, other landlords are resorting to more creative forms of temptation.

Free TV and internet is of the offers around, but Kipp’s favourite has got to be landlords who are offering to cover the cost of relocating – yes, landlords are now paying to come and move your furniture for you.

So with the rent up in a few months, Kipp’s been thinking we’ll see what we can get our new landlord to do. While one friend of Kipp has his landlord bring him beer every time he visits, Kipp’s thinking we’ll try and see if we can get our next landlord to do a little dance for his cheque.